Plumbers and Pipe Fitters: Jobs in Demand in Europe (2025)

Plumbers and Pipe Fitters is an official occupation group (ISCO-08 code 7126) used by the International Labour Organization and Eurostat.

  • Drain technician
  • Gas fitter
  • Pipe fitter
  • Pipe layer
  • Plumber
  • Ventilation pipe fitter
20European countries report a shortage (EURES 2025)
3countries report a surplus
6,352open job ads right now in Germany and Sweden
7126ISCO-08 occupation code
Short answerIn the 2025 EURES report on labour shortages, 20 European countries reported a shortage of plumbers and pipe fitters: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden. 3 reported a surplus: Finland, Greece and Luxembourg.

Pay in Germany for this job

€3,884median gross pay a month, full-time
€3,303 to €4,500middle half of workers (25% to 75%)
134,466full-time employees counted

German occupation used: Anlagenmechaniker/in - Sanitär-, Heizungs- und Klimatechnik (Plumber and heating installer), occupation code KldB 2010 34212. This is a national figure for all of Germany, before tax and social contributions, including extras such as holiday and Christmas pay.

Source: Bundesagentur für Arbeit, Entgeltatlas (employment statistics), reference date 31 December 2025. Full-time employees subject to social insurance only; civil servants, self-employed people and apprentices are not included. Retrieved 2026-10-13.

Check pay by region, age and gender in the Entgeltatlas

Pay in the UK for this job

£37,881median gross pay a year, full-time
£748median gross pay a week, full-time
58,000full-time jobs (ONS estimate)

UK occupation used: Plumbers & heating and ventilating installers and repairers (SOC 2020 code 5315). Placeivo matched this to ISCO-08 7126 by job title and duties; the UK and international occupation lists do not line up exactly. National figure for the whole United Kingdom, in pounds sterling (GBP), before income tax and National Insurance.

Source: Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) 2025 provisional, Table 14 (occupation by 4-digit SOC 2020): tables 14.7a (annual pay, gross) and 14.1a (weekly pay, gross), full-time employee jobs, United Kingdom. Weekly pay is for April 2025; annual pay is for the tax year ending 5 April 2025, employees in the same job for at least a year. Retrieved 2026-10-13.

See the ONS earnings tables by occupation

UK Skilled Worker visa for this job

Only in some casesGOV.UK level: Medium Skilled
£38,100standard going rate a year
£31,400lower going rate a year

This occupation (UK code 5315, Plumbers and heating and ventilating installers and repairers) is a medium-skilled job. GOV.UK says a new visa for a medium-skilled job is usually possible only if the job is on the Immigration Salary List or the Temporary Shortage List, with their own conditions; some people extending a visa they already hold have different rules. Check both lists before applying. GOV.UK says the lower going rate applies if you apply for a Health and Care Worker visa in certain occupations, or got the certificate of sponsorship for your first Skilled Worker visa before 4 April 2024 and have held one ever since. Going rates are for a 37.5-hour week and are pro-rated for other hours. Placeivo matched this UK code to ISCO-08 7126 by job title; the lists do not line up exactly.

This is a summary of official rules, not legal advice. Rules change and some people (for example those already on a Skilled Worker visa) have different rules. Always check GOV.UK before you apply.

Source: UK Visas and Immigration, GOV.UK tables "Skilled Worker visa: eligible occupations and codes" and "Skilled Worker visa: going rates for eligible occupation codes", updated 2025-07-22, retrieved 2026-10-15. General minimum salary from GOV.UK "Skilled Worker visa: Your job", checked 2026-10-15.

Compare UK visa going rates by job · Eligible occupations (GOV.UK) · Going rates (GOV.UK) · Salary rules (GOV.UK)

Latest plumbers and pipe fitters job ads

Real vacancies from the official public employment services, updated daily. Job titles are translated into English automatically; the full ad opens on the official site in German or Swedish (your browser's translate button turns it into English).

Germany

6,153 open ads

Source: Bundesagentur für Arbeit (German Federal Employment Agency). Ads are written by employers; Placeivo does not check them. See all ads in Germany

Sweden

199 open ads

Source: Arbetsförmedlingen (Swedish Public Employment Service). Ads are written by employers; Placeivo does not check them. See all ads in Sweden

Where plumbers and pipe fitters are needed in Europe

CountryEURES 2025Average gross pay, all craft and related trades workers (2022)1-bed rent in the capital
AustriaShortage€3,048 a month *Vienna: €1,250
BelgiumShortageNot yet verifiedBrussels: €1,150
BulgariaShortage€683 a monthSofia: €650
CroatiaShortage€1,092 a month *Zagreb: €1,050
CyprusShortage€1,461 a monthNicosia: €750
DenmarkShortage€4,885 a month *Copenhagen: €1,800
EstoniaShortage€1,512 a monthTallinn: €720
FranceShortage€2,305 a month *Paris: €1,550
GermanyShortage€3,095 a monthBerlin: €1,350
IrelandShortageNot yet verifiedDublin: €2,000
ItalyShortage€2,220 a month *Rome: €1,300
LithuaniaShortage€1,444 a monthVilnius: €830
NetherlandsShortage€3,145 a monthNot yet verified
NorwayShortage€4,565 a monthOslo: €2,000
PolandShortage€1,093 a monthWarsaw: €840
PortugalShortage€1,083 a month *Lisbon: €1,400
RomaniaShortage€969 a month *Not yet verified
SlovakiaShortage€1,292 a monthBratislava: €910
SloveniaShortage€1,645 a monthLjubljana: €950
SwedenShortage€3,464 a month *Stockholm: €2,100
FinlandSurplus€3,362 a month *Helsinki: €1,150
GreeceSurplus€1,475 a month *Athens: €1,150
LuxembourgSurplus€3,604 a month *Luxembourg: €1,900

Pay: Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey 2022, mean gross monthly earnings of all craft and related trades workers in each country, in euros. This is the average for the whole occupation group, not for plumbers and pipe fitters alone, and before tax. * Firms with 10 or more employees only. Rent: Eurostat, good-quality 1-bedroom flat in the capital, 2025.

What plumbers and pipe fitters do

Plumbers and pipe fitters assemble, install, repair and maintain pipe systems, drains, gutters, ducts and related fittings and fixtures for water, gas, drainage, sewerage, heating cooling and ventilation systems, and for hydraulic and pneumatic equipment.

Typical tasks

  • Examining blueprints, drawings and specifications to determine the layout of plumbing and ventilation systems and materials required
  • Measuring, cutting, threading, bending, jointing, assembling, installing, maintaining and repairing pipes, fittings and fixtures of drainage, heating, ventilation, water supply and sewerage systems
  • Installing gas appliances, dishwashers and water heaters, sinks and toilets using hand and power tools
  • Laying clay, concrete or cast-iron pipes in ditches to form sewers, drains or water mains, or for other purposes
  • Inspecting, examining and testing installed systems and pipes, using pressure gauge, hydrostatic testing, observation or other methods

Finding plumbers and pipe fitters jobs in Europe

  • EURES is the official job portal of the EU public employment services. The search above looks for "Pipe fitter".
  • Some jobs are regulated professions: before you can work, your qualification may need to be recognised in the new country.
  • If you are not an EU/EEA citizen you will usually need a work permit or a visa such as the EU Blue Card. Check the rules of the country's immigration authority.

Cost of living where the jobs are

Take-home pay needed to rent a good 1-bedroom flat in the capitals of countries reporting a shortage:

About this data

  • Shortage and surplus: European Labour Authority, EURES Report on labour shortages and surpluses 2025, annex table 21 (published 2026). Each country's public employment service reports which occupations it finds hard to fill or in oversupply. Countries not listed did not report this occupation as either.
  • Definition, tasks and job titles: International Labour Organization, ISCO-08 structure and definitions.
  • Pay: Eurostat, Structure of Earnings Survey 2022 (earn_ses22_48), by occupation group. Germany, this exact job: Bundesagentur für Arbeit, Entgeltatlas (median pay of full-time employees). United Kingdom, closest UK occupation: Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14 (median pay of full-time employees).
  • Job ads: Bundesagentur für Arbeit (Germany) and Arbetsförmedlingen (Sweden), refreshed about once a day.

See all jobs in demand in Europe · Methodology